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January 28, 2007
The committee, which has been meeting every two weeks since last June, includes the following members: Ted Curtis, Chair, John Bevier, Nancy Curtis, Peter Doyle, Karen Noble Hanson, Charlotte Kimberly-Haag, and Olivia Moore as well as ex-officio members Tom McCart and Chris Moore. The list includes three choir members, three vestry persons and represents a wide knowledge of church music and the parish.
We have just completed the first phase of our labors and want to share our results with you. We began by reviewing the work of the previous music assessment committee and developing a draft job description which was distributed nationally through the American Guild of Organists and the Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians. We invited applications until the deadline of January 10, 2007.
We received 44 resumes from all parts of the U.S. as well as Canada and Italy. We read and thoroughly discussed the relative merits of each applicant and divided them into three groups: yes, maybe or no. We selected the group according to our primary criterion: could we see this person as the new music director at St. Paul's? We made these decisions on a running basis as the resumes came in. After each batch had been considered we sent out two letters. We thanked the "no" group for applying but told them their talents and experience did not match our requirements. To the "yes" and "maybe" groups we sent a series of questions about their approach to music and operating within a parish setting.
At our January 17 meeting we reviewed six resumes received in the last three days prior to the January 10 deadline. Taking these into account, we arrived at our final conclusion: out of 44 resumes we have selected nine semifinalists who are still in the running. These nine represent a wide range of talent, style and experience, but we believe they are all worthy of further consideration.
In the coming weeks we will be conducting telephone interviews and reference checks with these nine. Our goal is to narrow the list down to three or perhaps four finalists who will be invited to Rochester immediately after Easter to meet with the committee and the Rector, to perform on our organ and conduct our choirs. Based on these interviews and all other relevant data, we will then review our recommendations with the Rector, who will make the final choice.
We have no idea who the final candidate will be. We do know that there are one or more splendid musicians in this group who can build an outstanding new program at St. Paul's that will continue the tradition of superb music that we have enjoyed for generations in this congregation.
Ted Curtis